Do the Bartman
"Do the Bartman" is a song from The Simpsons' 1990 album The Simpsons Sing the Blues. The song leads off the album as the first track and the first single released from it.
"Do the Bartman" was the number one music video on America's MTV network between January and March 1991. It was also an international success, being the UK number one single on February 16, 1991, staying there for a further two weeks. The single performed even more incredibly in Ireland, where it spent 9 weeks at Number 1 on the Irish Singles Chart. Only 6 singles have ever managed a longer run at Number 1 in Ireland. "Do the Bartman" was also the 14th highest selling single in Australia in 1991.
Although originally credited to producer Bryan Loren, in 1998 Matt Groening revealed that "Do the Bartman" was actually written and produced by Michael Jackson [1], who would also guest star on The Simpsons in 1991 using the pseudonym "John Jay Smith".
"Do the Bartman" should not be confused with the musical work in the making of Richard T. Brennan, "Do the Darman." The piece of musical mastery is set to be released in time for Holiday Shoppers in 2006.
Officially, Michael Jackson and Bryan Loren are both listed as composers of the song. [2]
Music video
The music video featured the typical plot of Bart rebelling against authority when he decides to put his own spin on a rigidly choreographed dance presentation at Springfield Elementary School.
The "Do the Bartman" video was directed by Brad Bird with dance choreography by Michael Chambers. It was animated (in association with Klasky-Csupo) by Varga Studio, a firm from Budapest, Hungary.
In related news the "Do the DARman" is scheduled to be released in early 2007. It will star Richard T. Brennan as DARMAN. He will be accompanied by Inception, Contribution, Withdrawal, Unclassified and ETF played by assorted little people. The music video will be the story of how the DAR was invented - and its evolution into the highly sophisticated machine it is today (under the control of DARMAN)
References on the show
Although one of the most memorable spin-offs of the series, "Do the Bartman" has only been referenced a handful of times during the show's run:
- In the episode "Three Men and a Comic Book," Bart attempts to score a costume discount at a comic book convention by dressing up as "Bartman" a superhero he just made up.
- Bart performs the song and dance in the 1998 episode "Simpson Tide" to prove that he is still cool to his classmates. However, the only response comes from Ralph, who makes an unimpressed quip of "That is so 1991".
- A parody of Hamlet, called "Do the Bard, Man," is the third segment of the multi-story episode "Tales from the Public Domain".
- In "Special Edna," Lisa asks "What happened to the Bart who put mothballs in the beef stew?" This is a line from the song.
- In "The Wandering Juvie," Bart asks Gina Vendetti, "Are you looking to do the Bartman?" when she shows affection for him.
- In "The Heartbroke Kid," when Bart has a heart attack and is lying on the floor, Homer passionately implores him "Come on Bart, do the Bartman!"
Trivia
- Shonen Knife released a Japanese language cover of the song as a b-side on their 1992 CD single "Do the Knife".
- Michael Jackson is referenced twice in the lyrics.